A key part of this is that companies can redeploy their offshore workforce, moving them from dangerous positions to new ones on shore. In this way, employers can provide a safer work environment, better balance work and life for employees, and fill the industry talent gap by retraining employees to drive a data-driven approach to oil and gas extraction and production.
ABB research shows that offshore oil and gas companies can expect to reduce carbon emissions by an average of 300,000 tons per production facility per year by operating autonomously [1], which is equivalent to the emissions of 150,000 cars [2].
Autonomous operation will increase the reliability and predictability of energy supply.
Annual cost savings of up to $30 million [3]
ABB today launched the second report in its Energy Transition Equation series, the Offshore Oil and Gas Report, showing how industrial customers can reduce carbon emissions and manage the energy transition to a more sustainable future.
Based on nine months of research and modelling, the Offshore Oil and Gas report highlights how enabling autonomous operations through early adoption and integration of automation, digitalisation and electrification technologies can reduce carbon emissions for offshore production facilities by more than 300,000 tonnes per year (approximately 25%). This is equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road and is the same amount of CO2 as the annual loss of 5 million tons of glacier mass [4].
"The world needs more energy," said Brandon Spencer, president of ABB's energy industry. "Even as renewables scale up, we still need to invest in oil and gas infrastructure to ensure the availability and stability of energy supplies." Now is the time to make these investments work, using the right technologies to ensure energy production from hydrocarbons is more sustainable as we continue to develop renewable resources.
The report also shows how companies can improve productivity by operating autonomously, saving up to $30 million a year in expenses while increasing net revenue by up to $120,000.
A key part of this is that companies can redeploy their offshore workforce, moving them from dangerous positions to new ones on shore. In this way, employers can provide a safer work environment, better balance work and life for employees, and fill the industry talent gap by retraining employees to drive a data-driven approach to oil and gas extraction and production.
As part of the Group's 2030 Sustainability Strategy, ABB has reduced its own carbon emissions by 39% in 2021 and expects to be fully carbon neutral within a decade. ABB's Sustainability Strategy 2030 details how ABB will help customers worldwide reduce carbon emissions by at least 100 million tonnes per year by 2030, which is equivalent to taking 30 million vehicles off the road.
The economic model for the report was developed by Steve Lucas, an independent economist at Developmental Economics[5], in collaboration with desktop research from ABB's Energy Industry Division, combining academic and industrial data sources. ABB will also publish a special report on the power and chemical markets in 2023.
